Why Are You Asking For My Advice...
by Red Star
Summary: Yue is confused about feelings for Sakura, and talks over them with our favorite vampire.
1. Default Chapter

WHY DO YOU WANT MY ADVICE…

I have _no_ idea why I wrote this. World War III is still in progress, but Nightmares from the Past appears stalled, so why am I writing this thing? (**His Brain:** Because I can.)

I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura, and frankly I DO support S+S, but, hey, what the heck?

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Why do I love her?

It really does make no sense to me. Clow Reed loved me, but only in a father-son relationship. 

Yet, I sat there and watched her sleeping. Her chest slowly moving up and down. Emerald eyes were shut off from the world, for a few hours, until they opened and she would smile happily at my false form. _Why have such an emotion? You know that the boy has an eye on her._

That inner voice has chided me about her. She's your mistress; she's so young; Besides, what do _you_ have to offer her?

These questions haunted me as I transported myself outside and began to fly. To fly…

An hour later, I soared over a large, mountainous region. Below me, I could see fires ablaze. The _Romany_, the gypsies, had set up camp. I looked upward past their farthest flame to see a massive structure blackening an area of the night sky. It was a castle. Towers stabbed toward the sky, as if reaching to pierce the night, and draw blood.

The windows were dark, but I knew someone was there. Someone who did not need light to carry on with his affairs.

I cautiously approached one of the fortress's balconies. It was grand, with two statues tucked into enclaves on each side of the door. My feet landed on hard rock, probably preserved repeatedly over the years. I looked through the glass doors. As my eyes adjusted, I could see a nearby table covered with books. _His library?_

I became aware of a sudden shift of the air within the great collection of books, and saw a dark shape appear rapidly a few feet away from the window. It moved forward and I floated back a little. The doors opened without the touch of any human hand, and_ he_ strode out, dressed in a long, black robe with some sort of dragon insignia sewed on in gold. "Yue?" he questioned, in a softly-surprised tone. I nodded and muttered, "Greetings, Prince Dracula."

A few minutes later, I sat on an ancient, red colored, gold lined couch facing a massive blaze in a massive fireplace that had two griffin gargoyles supporting it. I politely refused offers of coffee, tea, cigars, and other enjoyments that the Prince kept somewhere in his home. Dracula had grown older since our last meeting, his hair was gray, and his face had a few wrinkles on it. His hands were bony, with long, sharp fingernails. But his eyes, and his physical prowess, hadn't seemed to diminish at all. His eyes seemed to reach out and grip me, questioning me and examining me all by themselves. He sat, almost making the carved oak chair he sat in a throne. "So," he began, "Why have you come all this way?"

I gulped, for what seemed to be the first time. How could I explain? "It's about Sakura…" He went to his feet and towered over me, his eyes betraying a sudden storm of rage, concern, and hatred. "What happened? What's wrong? Is it…" I merely looked up at him, bewildered. He stopped and drew back a little, a pale hand coming up and clasping near his heart. "Forgive me…" Dracula looked up at a portrait over the fireplace. It was a man before a window, with a gold scepter and a curved-downward moustache. "Yes, forgive me…I feared that…dearest Sakura had become…but, no." He brought his hands together, and looked at me again. "Go on, Friend Yue, continue." 

He turned and looked up at the painting, waiting for me to speak. I reconsidered my thoughts and tried again. "Have you ever been in love?" The Prince turned to me, with amusement rising in his eyes. "Well, now…two wives have shared my breathing days. And I lived with three women before Van Helsing came after me and murdered them in their resting places." I looked down, trying to form the words in my mind. "What does it feel like?" Silence. I looked up toward where he was standing…or where he had stood. I turned and saw him looking down at a small portrait sitting on a desk. "You'll know," he murmured softly. I went over beside him to look at a picture of a beautiful young woman. "Who…" "Elizabeth," he said softly. I looked into his face and saw a tear creep down from his eye. "My first wife…She died while I was fighting." He placed the picture down and slowly walked back to the fireplace, his hands limp by his sides. Once again, he stared at the portrait above his fireplace. "Forgive a sad old man for interrupting, Yue, continue." I sat on the couch again. _All right, this time I'll go right to the point._ "I think…that I'm in love with Sakura." Dracula whipped around at that. A shocked look was rapidly replaced with a calm, but amused expression. "You…and her?" I looked down again, feeling foolish for approaching this man with such a strange idea. Then, his next few words surprised me: "Perfectly understandable." My eyes met his, and I could see a trace of comprehension. "What do you mean?" He smiled and sat down in his chair. "Well, she is fairly attractive, I would think, ha?" I nodded, feeling a little extra warmth come to my cheeks. "You're blushing, Yue. I speak the truth." I put a hand to my cheek. Blushing? What did that mean for something like me? "I myself found her charming, you know," the Prince continued, "It would have greatly pleased me to have her for a daughter." I didn't say anything, just stared into the flames. "Can you tell me…I never felt like this…" "I know," Dracula put two fingers to his chin and closed his eyes, as if remembering a pleasant dream. "Clow Reed was a fascinating man, but that's all he was: a man. He knew no more about emotions than the average breather, I don't believe he foresaw anything like this when you were born."

"What…" 

"Tell her."

"I can't; she's my mistress, Kerberus would be enraged, and there's no telling what her brother might do…"

Dracula held up a hand, commanding me to slow down. "To me, Yue, she is worth fighting for."

"But, Li Syaoron,"

"What of the lad?"

"You must be aware that he is attracted to her as well."

He smirked at me, giving him the appearance of a man who just heard me say that the sun was bright. "I know, I know. I've seen the boy, his heart goes a little faster every time she's around. But, he hasn't said anything yet, and besides he still has his…" Dracula grimaced a little, "…Fiancée. He won't be alone if you beat him to the punch." I was quiet. I didn't know what to think. She was just so young…but beautiful and strong as well.

"I…have to think over it."

"See that you do," Prince Dracula rose from his chair and walked beside me to the balcony. As my wings materialized and I prepared to take off: "And, Yue…"

I turned to the Prince as he regarded me with a calm smile, but a faraway look in his eyes,

"You must think hard before you let her go. Hold on to those you love, Yue, hold on…And you won't be as alone as I am, these days."

I hovered outside her window the next night, thinking over what the Prince said. I watched her as she climbed into bed, and drifted off to sleep. A serene sight.

I placed myself into her room and watched her again. Those Emerald eyes were closed for now, until they would awaken and greet Yukito again with a happy energy that only she possessed. 

She shivered a little, and drew the blankets tighter around her. It was a cold night…

I floated to her bed, and laid down beside her. I put one arm across her and pulled her close. One of my wings vanished, and the other wrapped around both of us. 

And, I felt a new sensation then.

Happiness…


	2. Chapter 2

WHY ARE YOU ASKING FOR MY ADVICE… 

Wow. I never thought so many of you would love this story. I meant it to be a one-shot thing but, hey, you guys want another chapter, you got it. Once again, I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura.

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After that night, I mulled quietly over those thoughts in Yukito's mind. Perhaps…I should act?

In Castle Dracula, the Prince crushed the butt of a freshly finished cigarette into a crystal ashtray as he leaned over a dusty old book in his library. He grumbled to himself in a long dead dialect of the Romanian language as he noticed a few scrawls on the edges. "Blasted Radu, never could leave anything around him, he'd just go and…" He stopped and turned to see his angelic friend standing out upon his balcony. Dracula stood and gestured for him to enter.

"Prince Dracula, I need your help," said the Guardian as soon as he had entered the old fortress. The Prince raised an eyebrow at Yue's request. "Of course, my friend," said the Prince. Dracula had poured a strange red liquid out of a crystal decanter into a small glass and raised it to his lips. "What is it?" Yue stopped and blushed before going on, "Can you help me court Sakura?" 

Yue grimaced when Dracula ejected some of his drink onto a rather ancient rug. 

Back in Japan…

"I'm home!" 

Sakura Kinomoto plopped down her book-bag on the chest near the door and went into the kitchen. A yellow note caught her eye…

Sakura

I'm at a dig in Hokkaido. Be back by midnight. Could you deliver the flowers tomorrow?

Love, 

Dad.

She looked over at the sink, where a tall collection of flowers sat wrapped in paper.

And how many years was it now, since she had gone? Ten?

It seemed so long ago since she heard her mother's voice…

"Ha, now," said Dracula, "You've told her?" I shook my head. "This is still…" _What should I say?_ "…Very new to me." Dracula growled in thought and looked down. With a look of disgust and a private scold, he made a mental note to look into what kind of chemicals would be most useful in the repair of his rug. "But why me, Yue? Despite what that Frank Langella man suggests, I am not that much of a ladies man." He walked over to a desk. A drawer opened as his hand reached for it, and he smoothly extracted a long cigar. Fumbling about his smoking jacket, he continued the conversation. 

"After that damnable incident with Harker and Van Helsing…where did I put those matches…I was left alone here with a tastefully furnished wing of my castle, a few bottles of Hungarian perfume, and an oak closet full of dresses and women's items. What could I offer you for advice?" I was silent for a moment as the Lord of Vampires gave up on his jacket and began rooting around his desk for the missing matchbook.

"I _need_ her, Prince," "Of course you do, she's your mistress." "But, I need something more." The Prince stopped lifting a pile of papers as he regarded me calmly. Dracula sighed and shook his head. "Well, now, I suppose the traditional approach is with flowers…" Prince Dracula abandoned the desk and looked over around the other pieces of furniture. "But that is too…cliché. Why can't I find those matches? Anyway, flowers are usually the way to go, however that is something they would expect, _ja_? So, you should present them in an unusual manner. Is there some special occasion arriving soon?"

I was silent as I tried to remember. No birthdays now. No holidays. Yet, Professor Kinomoto had circled a date on his calendar in red. I dug into Yukito's memories to discover the significance of that day…

And then, I discovered it. "I think I know when…" The Prince uttered a mumbling as he plucked a matchbook from his table. "You do, eh?" Dracula smiled as he clamped the cigar between his teeth and struck a match. "Yes," I stood and bowed to the Prince. "Thank you for your help."

The Next Day…

Kero sat on Sakura's shoulder as she started up the cemetery path. Kero had sensed the woman's ghost often in the house, clinging on to her home and Dracula's visit confirmed her presence. The Kinomoto family, despite their happy appearance, always seemed to be in silent mourning for Nadeshiko. Her pictures always displayed a beautiful happiness, and he supposed that the family tried to please their loved one by using her gift of pleasure. But the Kinomotos were always aware of their loss, and remembered that tragic anniversary every year. The familiar gravestone approached them now, and another familiar shape stood by it. His long white hair flowed down a back now devoid of wings. 

He turned at the sound of their approach and silently greeted his Mistress…

I watched her approach and she gave a smile to me, obviously distracted by the resting place of her lost mother. She kneeled down and lay the blossoms at the grave. She then turned to look strangely at a sprouting tree. She went over to it and examined it. "A Sakura," she said. I felt some of that warmth beginning to make it's way to my cheeks again. "Did you plant this, Yue?" she asked. I hesitated before slowly nodding. "I…thought she may like it." Sakura smiled and gave me a hug. A hug!

"Thank you, Yue…"

Although she and Kerberus, I believe I let a small smile out…


	3. Chapter 3

WHY ARE YOU ASKING FOR MY ADVICE…

WHY ARE YOU ASKING FOR MY ADVICE…

Castle Dracula's halls echoed with the music of Beethoven's "Waldstein." Prince Vlad Dracula sat at his piano, long fingers tapping at keys that summoned up the beautiful music. The Prince had held an interest in music for many years, using it to pass many an hour in his castle. The vampire's music room held violins, basses, a pipe organ, and other assorted musical devices. Beyond the two hundred year old notes, he heard the approach of someone familiar…

Prince Dracula turned around as I landed behind him. His eyes looked at me with patient expectation. 

"So…" he began "How did it go?"

At the memory, my knees seemed to lose strength and I grabbed a chair for support. He grinned at me. "That good, ah?" 

I shook my head. This was too new. All too new. "I don't know…yes. I think so."

Dracula rose from his seat. He wore his long black robes, and his hair had become almost completely silver.

"I expect you want to hear the next step, my friend." I nodded.

"Very well," the Prince motioned for me sit down. "Now," he began, "Tell me about it."

After I finished, Dracula sat back and placed his long fingers together in a pyramid fashion. "Good, good," he murmured, "Now, do you wish to continue?" I nodded, surprisingly eagerly. "Very well," he sighed, "The next step is…dinner." I froze as I stared at him. He looked down toward his nails, as if admiring them. "That is a logical step, Yue, I'm sorry but that is the way." "But…but I don't…!" He smiled. "You are a magical being, Yue. You'll find a way."

The next day, Sakura was busy with homework and I was downstairs cursing myself for receiving Dracula's advice. The ingredients were laid out on the counter and I still had no idea what to do. "Here goes nothing…" I sighed to myself. 

The Next Night…

"Is batter supposed to explode?" I asked the Prince. He raised a bushy black eyebrow as he looked at me. "I think it would be best for your self-worth to put that aside," he said, "And move on to how Sakura reacted." I sighed and sat down as Dracula stood before me, waiting patiently. 

"Well," I began, "After she had finished her homework, she came down and found me covered in that mix for…well, to make a long story short, she laughed at it and…" I put a hand to that same spot. "She kissed me…and thanked me for being so sweet…"

Dracula smiled and gave a little applause. "Excellent job! Excellent! Now, there is only one thing left…"

I leaned over to hear him. 

"Tell her."


	4. Chapter 4

WHY ARE YOU ASKING FOR MY ADVICE…

WHY ARE YOU ASKING FOR MY ADVICE…

"Love Song For A Vampire" belongs to Annie Lennox.

"Yukito?" We turned to see Sakura approaching us. The sunlight that filtered through the trees danced in her emerald eyes; those happy eyes I loved so much. 

"You wanted to talk to me?" Yukito was confused a little.

"Actually," he began, then he fell asleep and I appeared, "_I_ wanted to talk to you…"

Far away, in Castle Dracula…

It was the wee hours of the morning as the Prince stared into the flames from his heavy oak chair. His hair was now mostly silver, and he wore his black, gold-rimmed robes.

In his left hand he held a crystal glass. In his right, between his index and forefinger, was an old black cigarette holder; it's occupant's life floating into the ceiling of Dracula's library. He had not smoked it for a while, as memories of that Angelic Guardian had come into his mind. He chuckled lightly. To Prince Dracula, Yue seemed like an innocent little boy going to the strange old man across the street for advice. 

The fire was a little lower now as the lightning, accompanied by thunder, trumpeted the arrival of rain. The water began to pound at his fortress's roof, as if seeking to escape the cold that it itself induced.

Love…it had escaped his grasp so many years ago. Stolen by fate, which had taken the shape of an arrow.

He would be carrying out his self appointed mission now.

Yue was ready to face the future; would Vlad the Impaler prove to fear the past too much to do so?

No. He would face it.

He put down his glass and left his cigarette dying in a nineteenth century ashtray…

Come into these arms again 

_And lay your body down._

"Clow was…a good master to me…" I began. "Before he died, he told me there would be another." I looked up as a quiet wind swept through the trees.

"I…I didn't _want_ another master. I wanted him to live forever. But, he went anyway."

Th' rhythm of this trembling heart 

_Is beating like a drum._

_It beats for you, it bleeds for you._

_It knows not how it sounds._

_For it is the drum of drums_

_It is the song of songs._

_ _

"Then you came along. You didn't demand anything of me. Just asked me for my friendship. No one…" Sakura blinked and studied me intensely, her heart beating a little faster. "No one ever said that to me. And that's when…I…"

Once I had the rarest rose that 

_Ever deigned to bloom._

_Cruel winter chilled the balm,_

_And stole my flower too soon._

Prince Dracula stood before two heavy oak doors. The lightning threw shadows from a hallway window onto his body. An ancient hand rose and slipped intro his robe, pulling out an old set of keys. Choosing one, he aimed it for the hole. He hesitated before turning it.

Inside the large chamber was the antique furniture of the fifteenth century. Dracula walked in and twitched his hand slightly back at the doors. They swung closed with a heavy crash.

He waved a hand, and candles that had lain untouched for centuries hissed to life.

Dracula silently regarded the room again, noting the faded drapes that hung like phantoms around the windows. A dusty bottle of wine sat on a table in the middle of it all. Two equally dusty wine glasses sat by it. Then he saw it, beyond the table.

That window…

O loneliness, O hopelessness 

_To search the ends of time,_

_For there is in all the world_

_No greater love than mine._

Taking a deep breath, I knew: it was now or never.

"That…is when I began to love you, Sakura."

For a moment, there was silence, in that park in Japan, and in that room in Castle Dracula.

_Love…Still falls the rain._

_Be mine forever…_

_ _

Then, she simply came over and embraced me.

That was all that was needed.

Let me be the only one 

_To shield you from the cold._

Dracula stood at the window from which _she_ had thrown herself to the river below. The rain spattered against him, and the wind threw the curtains into disarray for the first time in hundreds of years and made his robe ripple. 

The lightning streaked across the sky, and the thunder rolled.

Dracula then screamed out to the heavens, to the river, to the mountains, one name.

"Elizabeth!!!"

He withdrew violently into the castle again and swept the wine bottle and glasses from the table, the wine meant to celebrate his victorious return from the battlefield.

Prince Dracula grasped the table and then collapsed to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

The Lord of Vampires cried on the floor of his castle, ignoring the storm that roared around him.

_Now the floor of heav'n is laid,_

_Its stars of brightest glow._

_They shine for you._

_They shine for you._

_They burn for all to see._

_Come into these arms again_

_And set this spirit free._

THE END


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